Welding clamp for electrical conductors



March 27; J T. MO N WELDING CLAMP FOR ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS Filed May 12, 1930 Patented Mar. 27, 1934 PATENT OFFICE:

WELDING CLAMP FOR ELECTRICAL CON- DUCTORS John T. Morgan, Charleston, W. Va. Application May 12, 1930, Serial No. 451,778

1 Claim.

This invention is a device by means of which adjoining portions of two electrical conductors may be welded together so as to provide an effective electrical contact.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a simple device by means of which one end of a conductor, such as the flexible cable, may be firmly held while it is being welded to a portion of the surface area of another conductor. A further object is to provide a device of the character mentioned having means for cooperating with said surface area, so as to form a receptacle which will prevent spreading of the welding material away from the welding position. A further object is to provide a device of the character mentioned, so constructed and arranged that it holds the conductor in position during and after welding, in such manner that the conductor is welded to the rail and the entire current is carried thereby.

The invention will be hereinafter fully set forth and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing:-

Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating the invention in the form of an electric railway bond.

Figure 2 is a view illustrating the clamp in side elevation with a portion of the rail shown in cross section. Figure 3 is a plan view. Figure 4 .is a view of the device before attachment to the flexible conductor.

Referring to the drawing, R designates a railway rail of any standard construction, and C represents the terminal clamp of the invention. The clamp C consists of a metal body 10, having upstanding sides, the upper portions of which are formed with complemental clamping lugs 11 of approximately V-shape, which are capable of being bent around a flexible conductor ,12, the extremity of said conductor projecting "beyond the clamp lugs 11, as indicated at 13. From the foregoing, it will be noted that the body 10 is provided wtih a longitudinally disposed conductor-receiving bore and that the lugs or wings 11 are pressed tightly over the conductor so as to firmly secure the same in place. The body 10 is also provided with an integral downwardly and forwardly bent anchoring hook 14, positioned to extend under the flange 15 of the rail R, said anchoring hook extending from the rear end of the body 10, contiguous to the lugs 11. The forward end of the body is provided with a pair of laterally spaced wings 16, which are inclined both upwardly and outwardly, so as to be more widely separated at their upper edges than at their lower edges, said lower edges being inclined as indicated at 17. Thus the free extremities of said wings 16 are narrower than the rear portions thereof which are separated from the lugs 11, and extend above the planes of the sides of the body. The lower edges of the wings are thus shaped to conform to the inclination of the top surface of the rail 15.

In practice, the clamp member is attached to the end of conductor 12 by pressing the lugs 11 around said conductor, and then it is preferred to slightly flatten the extremity of said conductor. The device is then attached to the rail R by passing the anchoring hook 14 beneath the flange 15, so that the body 10 rests upon the upper surface of the rail and the inclined lower edges 17 of the wings 16 will also conform to the inclination of said surface. By this arrangement, the wings 16 cooperate with the adjacent surface of the flange 15 to form a receptacle for the welding material W. Welding material W is then placed in the said receptacle so as to cover the end 13 of the conductor 12. The parts are then welded by any suitable welding method, preferably by using a copper welding rod in a well known manner, such as electric welding, the wings 16 preventing lateral spread of the welding material, and the inclination of the top surface of the flange 15 causing the molten metal to flow downwardly toward the end 13 of the flexible conductor so as to thoroughly cover the same. By flattening the end of the cable before welding, the welding material will flow over the top thereof and still keep within the height limits of the wings 16. If desired, in lieu of connecting the conductor and the clamp before engaging the latter with the rail, the clamp may be first anchored to the rail, and the end of the conductor subsequently secured thereto.

The clamp member may be constructed as a steel stamping, or of cast steel or iron, or of any other suitable metal capable of withstanding the welding temperatures. At the end of the welding operation, the conductor 12 will be integrally welded to the flange 15, so as to provide a close electrically conductive clamp serving to hold the conductor in position during and after the welding operation.

The advantages of the invention will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which it belongs. that the wings 16, of the clamp are arranged to diverge at their free ends, and while resting upon the inclined surface of the rail flange will prevent lateral spread of the welding material, and direct its flow toward the joint, the

It will be particularly noted anchored end of 0 the flexible conductor so as to cause it to entirely surround the said end, said walls being sufficiently high to permit a complete covering of the incoming conductor, thereby making an efificient weld. The V-shape clamping lugs of the terminal clamp merely hold the incoming conductor in position for welding prior to the weld, and after the conductors have been welded together these clamping lugs absorb vibrations on the incoming conductor and protect the weld from mechanical injury incident to such vibration. -By making the clamping lugs of V-shape as shown, they not only may be readily clamped to the incoming conductor, but they are also so constructed that they may be readily applied to cables, wires or conductors of different diameters. After the parts clamp C becomes in elfect a cable terminal, but does not primarily serve as a conductor, because the welded parts provide a direct conductive path of minimum resistance.

It is to be understood, that the invention, while particularly applicable to the bonding of rails for traction purposes is not limited to such use, but is equally applicable to the welding of any type of conductors, where it is desirable or necessary to obtain a continuous electrical circuit. It is particularly applicable to the bonding of rails because of the simplicity of installation. It also permits the use of either new cable, old scrap cable or of several old scrap cables, solid wire or other type of conductors incompleting a bond between rails, thereby eliminating the necessity of purchasing a complete bond with terminals installed on it, thus resulting in an economy of metal. An important advantage is that once the are welded, as'described, the

weld is made the clamp itself does not function as a conductor, the welded contact being relied upon for this purpose.

Having thus explained the nature of the invention and described an operative manner of constructing and using the same, although without attempting to set forth all of the forms in which it may be made, or all of the forms of its use, what is claimed is:-

A welding terminal device of the character described comprising a body provided with a longitudinally disposed conductor-receiving bore, said body having clamping means to retain a conductor within said bore, a pair of wings having .end portions integrally connected with one end of said body on opposite sides of said bore, said wings extending in the same general direction as the axis of the bore, the lower edges of said wings, the forward extremities of said wings, and portions of the rear extremities of the wings being free and laterally spaced so that the wings may rest upon the top surface of a rail flange and direct the flow of molten welding material over the adjacent end of said conductor, the rear portions of the upper edges of said wings being higher than the top of said body, the forward extremities of said wings being more widely separated than their rear extremities, the upper edges of said wings being more widely separated laterally than the lower edges thereof, and a forwardly extended anchoring member connected with the rear end of the body and positioned to extend beneath said rail flange so as to anchor the clamp to the rail.

JOHN T. MORGAN. 

